oldest videogame i genuinely appreciate is
1985 (arcadeboard) Gradius
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998 (N64) Banjo’n’Kazooie
1999 (N64) Rayman 2, (PS1) Bloody Roar 2, (PC) Age of Empires 2
2000 (N64) Kirby 64,
2001
2002 (PC) WarCraft 3: RoC & tFT
2003
2004 (PS2) Need For Speed: Underground 2
2005 (PS2) SoulCalibur 3, Tekken 5
2006
2007 (PC) Assassin’s Creed
2008
2009 (PS3) Demon’s Souls
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Glad I take notes, I guess. Could never remember so much stuff without.
Also wonder if I should count Crystal Castles twice, since the arcade and Atari 2026 feel pretty different from each other.
the list
- 1983 Crystal Castles
- 1984-1990 1st gap
- 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog, Wonder Boy in Monster World
- 1992 Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- 1993 Day of the Tentacle, MegaRace
- 1994 Final Fantasy VI, Sonic the Hedgehog 3
- 1995 3D Pinball for Windows – Space Cadet, Block Kuzuchi, Gunbird, コテ・DE・メクール
- 1996 Metal Slug
- 1997 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy VII, Pikiinya
- 1998 Gunbird 2, Half-Life, Metal Slug 2, Parasite Eve
- 1999 Metal Slug X
- 2000 Metal Slug 3
- 2001 Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy X, ICO, S.W.I.N.E.
- 2002 Metal Slug 4, Shantae, The King of Fighters 2002
- 2003 Final Fantasy X-2, Gundemonium, Metal Slug 5, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja, Notrium, The Simpsons: Hit & Run, War of the Monsters
- 2004 GundeadliGne, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2, The Fairly OddParents! Shadow Showdown
- 2005 Devil May Cry 3, God of War, Hitogata Happa, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles, Shadow of the Colossus
- 2006 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dragon Ball: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Final Fantasy XII, God Hand, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2, Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island, Okami, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES
- 2007 Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Final Fantasy II (20th Anniversary Edition), Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, God of War II, Godzilla: Unleashed, GrimGrimoire, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 4, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 5, No More Heroes, Odin Sphere, Portal, Shrek the Third, The Simpsons Game
- 2008 A Vampyre Story, Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno, Devil May Cry 4, Disney Bolt, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Tales of Hearts R
- 2009 Batman: Arkham Asylum, Infamous, Minecraft
- 2010 God of War 3, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Remember Me, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter, Sports Champions, VVVVVV
- 2011 Batman: Arkham City, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extended, Catherine, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Portal 2, Saints Row: The Third
- 2012 Asura’s Wrath, Bravely Default, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Gravity Rush, Persona 4 Golden, Plan M
- 2013 Anodyne, CastleStorm, Divekick, DMC: Devil May Cry, Dragon’s Crown, Drakengard 3, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Ittle Dew, Monaco: What Is Yours Is Mine
- 2014 Bunny Swordmaster Story, Child of Light, LiEat, Momodora, Momodora II, Momodora III, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Phoenotopia, Quest of Dungeons, Senran Kagura Bon Appétit, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, Tallowmere
- 2015 Bravely Second, Downwell, Dreaming Sarah, Riddled Corpses
- 2016 ABZÛ, Celeste Classic, Dusk Child, Explosionade, Mary Skelter: Nightmares, Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight, Persona 5, Rabi-Ribi, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, Songs for a Hero - A Lenda do Herói, Starbound, Super Skelemania, Va-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, World of Final Fantasy
- 2017 Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe, Ever Oasis, Hollow Knight, One Strike, Steamworld Heist, Super Dungeon Boy
- 2018 Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, Celeste, Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition, Knight Club, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Slipways Classic, Tanglewood, The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, The Rainsdowne Players
- 2019 Codemancer, Etherborn, JackQuest, Mary Skelter 2 (I’m not counting the botched PS4 release), Micro Mages, Minoria, Shantae and the Seven Sirens
- 2020 Böbl, Calico, Deeper Down Dungeons, Grey-Box Testing, hasicontent, Katja’s Abyss: Tactics, Nix: The Paradox Relic, The Corruption Within, Unparallel, Wishing Sarah
- 2021 8Doors: Arum’s Afterlife Adventure, Augury Red Code, Celeste Classic 2, Chloe Playtime!, Dreamscaper, DUSK '82: ULTIMATE EDITION, Kraken Academy!!, The Amazing American Circus
- 2022 Coromon, Kitsune Zero, River City Girls, River City Girls 2, River City Girls Zero, Tyrant’s Blessing
- 2023-2024 2nd gap
- 2025 Dust Bunny, Hollow Knight: Silksong
I am compelled to disagree that Banjo Kazooie holds up better than The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for 1998. That’s crazy talk.
I am interested in doing this but do not have the time currently. Ill come back to this later.
EDIT: Here is my own list, limited to games I have actually played. I guess this would be my “Game of the Year” list for the following years, again, from games I have played. Although I tried hard to limit it down to just one game.for each year, sime year were more stacked than others (and this really hurt sometimes). If multiple games are listed, they are considered close to equal in the order they are listed, with first being the highest and each subsequent being like half a point below its previous.If its not on this list, either I didn’t play it, or I don’t consider it to be equal to or better than what I put here:
- 1981 - Defender
- 1982 - Q*bert
- 1983 - Fortress of Narzod
- 1984 - Knight Lore
- 1985 - Super Mario Brothers
- 1986 - The Legend of Zelda
- 1987 - Dungeon Master
- 1988 - Snatcher (the later SEGA CD version is objectively better in nearly every way)
- 1989 - Tetris
- 1990 - Super Mario World
- 1991 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- 1992 - Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
- 1993 - Brandish 2: The Planet Buster
- 1994 - Super Metroid, Policenauts
- 1995 - Panzer Dragoon
- 1996 - Yu-No: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of This World
- 1997 - GoldenEye 007, Quake II, Mega Man Legends
- 1998 - The Ledeng of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Panzer Dragoon Saga
- 1999 - Silent Hill, Shenmue, System Shock 2, Age of Empires II, Dino Crisis
- 2000 - The Operative: No One Lives Forever, Vagrant Story
- 2001 - Halo Combat Evolved, Silent Hill 2, Shenmue II, Super Smash Brothers Melee
- 2002 - Metroid Prime, Resident Evil (Gamecube remake), The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Steel Battalion, Panzer Dragoon Orta, MechAssault, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
- 2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy, F-Zero GX, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 (yeah, it released in 2003)
- 2004 - Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, Need for Speed Underground 2
- 2005 - TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (unironically a peak game in 2005), Star Wars Republic Commando,
- 2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Battlefield 2142, Metroid Prime Hunters
- 2007 - Halo 3, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, Project Gotham Racing 4
- 2008 - Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Rock Band 2, Mirror’s Edge
- 2009 - Demon’s Souls
- 2010 - Halo Reach, NieR (Gestalt), Battlefield Bad Company 2, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, Infinity Blade (yes, the mobile game)
- 2011 - Dark Souls, Minecraft, Portal 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon
- 2012 - Forza Horizon
- 2013 - Battlefield 4
- 2014 - Dark Souls II, Halo 2 Anniversary (Campaign, as part of Master Chief Collection), Destiny, Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair,
- 2015 - Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain, Yakuza 0, Life is Strange
- 2016 - Dark Souls III, Factorio, Divinity Original Sin II, Stellaris (its very different now, in a better way IMO)
- 2017 - NieR Automata, Doki Doki Literature Club!, The Coma: Recut,
- 2018 - Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Forza Horizon 4, Deep Rock Galactic, Kingdom Come Deliverance
- 2019 - Risk of Rain 2, Code Vein, Death Stranding
- 2020 - Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur’s Gate III, Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, Genshin Impact (it was fun for a while)
- 2021 - Valheim
- 2022 - Elden Ring, Goddess of Victory NIKKE (I am completely serious with this pick)
- 2023 - Metroid Prime Remastered, System Shock Remake (I actually backed this game on Kickstarter at one of their higher tiers)
- 2024 - Helldivers 2
- 2025 - Elden Ring Nightreign
- 2026 - (I haven’t played any games that released this year that were good enough to be in this list)
You know, writing this all out, gaming really does suck these days. The 90s-10s were absolutely STACKED with bangers.
MGSV sucked.
put Link & Zelda over Banjo & Kazooie in your list then ;9
I have edited my comment with my list for your data gathering pleasure.
i appreciate and wholly agree to your claim that 90s-00s-10s are the be all end all of videogames.
Man that seems like a lot of work lol
work… Work, WORK?
this is play and relaxation m’shark
Many of these games were before my time. I had some older cousins and family friends that let me borrow them. Consoles I’ve owned are NES, SNES GC, Switch 1, PS2, XB360, XBOne, and XB S/X. These are the years the games were published and I am including only makes i have played and enjoyed. There are many other flops or unremarkable games from my past.
1985 - SMB, Duck Hunt, Gradius
1986 - Solomon’s Key
1987 - Punch Out, Double Dragon, Mega Man
1988 - SMB 3, Bayou Billy, Mega Man 2
1989 - Adventures of Lolo, Dragon Spirit
1990 - Mega Man 3
1991 - Super Mario World, Gradius 3
1992 - Super Mario Kart, TMNT Turtles in Time
1993 - Alfred the Chicken
1994 - Donkey Kong Country, Super Punch Out, Mega Man X
1995 - Donkey Kong Country
1996 - Kirby Super Star, Mega Man X3
1997 - Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye 007
1999 - Jet Force Gemini, RE2 (N64), SSB
2001 - SSB Melee, MGS 2, Silent Hill 2, GTA3
2002 - RE Remake, RE Zero, Time Splitters 2
2005 - Resident Evil 4 (PS2)
2006 - Lost Planet
2007 - COD4 MW
2008 - COD WaW, Gears 2
2009 - COD MW2, Resident Evil 5, BM Arkham Asylum
2010 - Red Dead Redemption, Battlefield Bad Company
2011 - Gears 3, BM Arkham City
2012 - BL2
2013 - BM Arkham Origins, GTA 5
2015 - BM Arkham Knight
2018 - PUBG (XB), Red Dead Redemption 2
2019 - Destiny, COD MW, RE2 Remake, STJ Fallen Order
2021 - RE Village
2023 - RE 4 Remake, Dead Space Remake, Dredge, STJ Survivor
2024 - Another Crabs Treasure
2025 - ARC Raiders
2026 - RE Reqium (Enjoying so far, need to see how the relativity is still)
1984: Elite
1985: Ultima 4
1986: The Legend of Zelda
1987: Final Fantasy
1988: Mega Man 2
1989: TMNT & Golden Axe
1990: Secret of Monkey Island
1991: LOZ: A Link to the Past
1992: Wolfenstein 3D
1993: Doom
1994: X-Com: UFO Defense
1995: Chrono Trigger
1996: Duke Nukem 3D, Diablo
1997: Goldeneye 007, Final Fantasy 7
1998: Ocarina of time, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, and Starcraft
1999: Planescape Torment, THPS, GTA2, Unreal Tournament, System Shock 2, Smash Bros, EverQuest, Homeworld, and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
2000: Deus Ex, Diablo 2, The Sims, Baldur’s Gate, and Majora’s Mask
2001: Halo, MGS2
2002: Vice City, Morrowind
2003: Wind Waker, KOTOR
2004: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, Halo 2, and WoW
2005: RE4, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus
2006: Bully, Wii Sports, Saints Row, Just Cause, and Dead Rising
2007: Bioshock, Portal, TF2, and Mass Effect
2008: Fallout 3, MGS4, and GTA 4
2009: Demon’s Souls, Arkham Asylum, Prototype, Borderlands, L4D2, and Minecraft.
2010: Red Dead Redemption
2011: Skyrim, Dark Souls, Portal 2
2012: Dishonored, Far Cry 3, Xcom: Enemy Unknown
2013: GTA5
2014: Dark Souls 2
2015: Bloodborne, MGS5
2016: Stardew Valley, Dark Souls 3
2017: Breath of the Wild
2018: RDR2
2019: Sekiro, Death Stranding, and Fallen Order
2020: Hades, HL: Alyx
2021: Disco Elysium
2022: Elden Ring
2023: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom
2024: FF7 Rebirth and Helldivers 2
2025: Expedition 33 and Hades 2
2026: Nothing has come out this year that I truly appreciate. Yet. Most of the ones I want to try I haven’t played yet.
1997 - GoldenEye
The last 40 years are a blur, and I honestly don’t know what year any games came out. I could guess a range, but that’s about it.
As in, list from memory? List games that you actually played? Or just games you think are good?
as in sit down and fill in a list for your own satisfaction =)
discover new things just to fill in the list, find what others have written in the years you’re missing
If we’re talking old games that hold up, I would put Rogue (1980) and Nethack (1987) on that list. Rogue is like the basis for 60% of the gaming industry, and Nethack is still being actively developed.
in your own list
make a list and share, that’s the challenge =)
Oh, man, that sounds like a lot.
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